The number of people moving to a small supplier has increased for seven consecutive months, according to Energy UK.

As many as 72 per cent of households would consider switching to a small supplier, according to research carried out by uSwitch earlier this year. The proportion marks a huge leap from the 56 per cent who would have considered an independent supplier when the same survey was carried out in 2013.

The big six energy suppliers have come under considerable fire for raising prices and now face a Competitions and Markets Authority probe to see if there are problems with competition in the UK energy market.

Provisional findings are expected in May or June next year.

SSE, which held its annual meeting today, said the investigation was an 'important opportunity to demonstrate the competitiveness of the energy market in Great Britain.'

Chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies added: ‘We think the energy market is competitive and has brought significant benefits for customers. We also think we’ve done a lot in recent years to make it more transparent and easier to understand.

'That said, standards have fallen short in some areas and key features of the market have become politically contentious and subject to significant change designed to achieve a mixture of objectives.

‘With all of that going on, we think the CMA now looks like the best way of achieving a new, lasting settlement on the energy market that commands broad regulatory, political and public support.’

The Perth-based utility, which trades as Southern Electric, Swalec and Scottish Hydro, also revealed it had seen gas usage plunge 29 per cent and electricity fall 7 per cent due to milder weather.

Probe: The CMA has launched in investigation into the energy market, and is due to report its initial findings next year

But the business, which plans to cut 500 jobs, said its financial performance was on track as it looks to boost its dividend at a rate that at least keeps pace with the retail price index (RPI) measure of inflation for 2014-15. RPI inflation stands at 2.6 per cent.

The business said it was in the middle of selling PFI street-lighting contracts and non-regulated gas pipelines, which it is confident will complete by the autumn.

SSE has set out plans to spend £5.5billion on investment in the four years to March 2018, including £1.6billion in the current financial year.

Last week the group was granted planning permission to build a £1.2 billion undersea electricity cable linking green energy projects between Caithness and Moray in Scotland.

The energy supplier received the lowest proportion of complaints from customers of any of the big six firms , according to recent figures from Citizens Advice.

Complaints about energy giants Npower and Scottish Power almost doubled in the first three months of this year as billing problems left thousands of customers with incorrect or missing bills.

Npower remained ‘firmly at rock bottom’ in the complaints table, and Scottish Power fared little better in fifth place, after both introduced new billing systems.

However SSE attracted 34.1 complaints per 100,000 customers in the first quarter, followed by British Gas (75.4), E.On (83.6) and EDF (84.5).

IS IT TIME TO SWITCH? HOW TO DO IT YOURSELF

Energy tariff prices are in a constant merry-go-round with suppliers battling to pinch customers - you - from each other.

Shrewd consumers can take advantage of this by doing exactly that - moving deals every six months to a year to ensure they are on THE cheapest deal. Even moving every other year will save you significant amounts.

Suppliers offer their cheapest rates via online tariffs so if you're ready to switch, it will certainly pay to do so.

If you are one of the millions of people who have NEVER switched (i.e. stuck with your original supplier), then you will DEFINITELY save a big chunk of cash, possibly as much as £300 a year.

Prices are different all over the country and the cheapest supplier for you will depend where you live. You only need to be interested in the tariff that is going to be cheapest where you live, so do your own comparison to find the best price.

For full details of how to switch your provider and where to find the best deals check out This is Money's guide